Tag Archives: housing

Four new sites for major housing developments in Thorney have been proposed for inclusion in Peterborough City Council’s Local Plan.

They include land around Causeway Lodge at the entry to the village, land to the north of Wisbech Road between Sandpit Road and pumping station, and two tranches of land south of the village – one in the field adjoining the park and another to the west of Park Farm.

The four plots cover 20 hectares of agricultural land and could contain up to 390 additional houses.

The Peterborough Local Plan aims to build 27,500 new homes and create 22,000 new jobs in the city between 2011 and 2036.

The sites in Thorney will be considered for inclusion, but not necessarily given the green light. A round of public consultation across the city will be held, with the aim of having plans approved in spring 2018.

Already the plans have caused controversy. Peterborough mayor David Sanders, who represents Eye, Thorney and Newborough, has accused the city council of destroying Eye and insists no further homes should be built there. Eye has been earmarked for up to 250 houses and a block on further development there may increase pressure to build in Thorney.

The four sites in the village are:

THO-001: 4.26 hectares of agricultural land to the north of Wisbech Road in the field between the mini-roundabout at the corner of the school to the pumping station. The plans says this would be suitable for 20 houses, but may not get approval by the City Council as it is in a designated flood plain and previous development nearby has been rejected.

THO-002: 5.19 hectares of agricultural land in the triangle around the bypass, the first roundabout and The Causeway as you enter the village from Peterborough. The development extends around the old Causeway Lodge farmhouse. The plans suggest 120 houses, which is a high density. The land would also be within a designated flood plain and therefore may not get approval by the City Council.

THO-003: 7.21 hectares of agricultural land to the south of Thorney Park and running up to the current Larkfleet housing development at the end of Woburn Drive. The site is marked for 170 homes. This land has been offered for housing previously and was supported by the Parish Council but opposed by English Heritage which complained that it would damage the aspect of the village from the south and street lighting for an access road onto Whittlesey Road would be too bright.

THO-005: 2.6 hectacres of agricultural land to accommodate 80 houses in a triangle of land to the east side of the Larkfleet estate and to the south of the Park Farm housing development which was given the go-ahead by Peterborough City Council this autumn.

Developers of the new housing estate at the end of Sandpit Road are keen to hear the views of Thorney residents.

They say these will be taken into consideration before final plans are drawn up.

An exhibition, showing the proposed layout of the estate, was held at the Bedford Hall on Thursday and about a hundred people attended. Many left response forms.

Peter Moore of development consultants Bletsoes told Thorney Post the reaction from people visiting had been generally positive. A few suggestions had been noted and people who weren’t able to make it can still comment via e-mail: peter.moore@bletsoes.co.uk.

A planning application is likely to go to the Peterborough City Council this month and building work may start in late 2016 or early 2017.

The mix of homes will include small terraces, semi-detached, detached and bungalows and housing density will be relatively low – around 25 homes per hectare, compared to 30-35 on most new developments.